George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie
George Kenneth Hotson Younger, Baron Younger of Prestwick, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie KT KCVO TD PC (
September 22,
1931–
January 26,
2003), known to many as "
Gentleman George", was a
Scottish politician whose long career as
Conservative &
Unionist MP for
Ayr (
1964–
1992) included periods as
Secretary of State for Scotland from
1979 to
1986, and
Secretary of State for Defence from
1986 to
1989.
Lord Younger of Leckie came from a
Scottish family which had been making money from
brewing since the
18th century, and which entered the
aristocracy in the early years of the
20th century. His great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, George Younger (baptised 1722), was the founder of the family's brewing business,
George Younger and Son. This George Younger's great-great-grandson, also named
George Younger (1851–1929), entered politics, and was created Viscount Younger of Leckie in 1923. This peerage has passed in an unbroken line from father to son ever since.
Younger was the eldest of three sons of
Edward Younger, 3rd Viscount Younger of Leckie (1906–1997) by his wife Evelyn Margaret,
née McClure.
He was educated at
Winchester College, and at
New College, Oxford, where he obtained an
MA degree.
He was initially selected to stand for the
Perth and Kinross seat in a by-election in late
1963, but agreed to stand aside to allow the new Prime Minister
Alec Douglas-Home the chance to enter Parliament. Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather the 1st Viscount, Younger became
Member of Parliament for
Ayr in
1964. A summary of his political career follows:
*
1965–
1967: Scottish Conservative Whip
*
1967–
1970: Deputy-Chairman of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Association
*
1970–
1974: Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland*
1974:
Minister of State for Defence*
1974–
1976: Chairman of the Conservative Party of Scotland (having been Deputy Chairman from 1967 to 1970)
*
1979–
1986: Secretary of State for Scotland
*
1986–
1989: Secretary of State for Defence
*
1987–
1988: President of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
He succeeded
Michael Heseltine as Secretary of State for Defence when Heseltine resigned from the cabinet over a dispute about
helicopters known as the
Westland crisis.
Younger quit the cabinet in
1989, and joined the
Royal Bank of Scotland, being made a director in that year, and in
1992, he left life as an MP behind altogether, and became the Bank's chairman.
That same year, he was made a life peer, becoming Lord Younger of Prestwick. Upon the death of his father on
June 25,
1997, he inherited the family's baronetcy and viscountcy, becoming the 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie.
He died on January 26, 2003, after a battle with
cancer, at the age of 71.
Burke's Peerage & Baronetage (106th edition, 1999). Editor-in-chief: Charles Mosley; publisher: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.
*
Lord Younger dies after cancer battle – BBC News article, dated Sun 26 Jan 2003
*
Lord Younger: A career in politics – BBC News article, dated Sun 26 Jan 2003
*
Tribute paid to 'Gentleman George' – BBC News article, dated Sun 26 Jan 2003
